Family feud lands man in jail

A Machesney Park man faces three felony and three misdemeanor charges after he pushed his younger brother into a glass aquarium and injured his mother in their St. Charles home Saturday, police said.

Staff reports

A Machesney Park man faces three felony and three misdemeanor charges after he pushed his younger brother into a glass aquarium and injured his mother in their St. Charles home Saturday, police said.

Charles F. Miller, 50, was arrested at about 5 a.m. after police responded to a fight in a home on the 500 block of Cedar Avenue, according to the St. Charles Police Department.

Witnesses said the fight started when Miller entered the home intoxicated and began making noise, waking his 75-year-old mother, according to a police report. Miller became belligerent when his mother asked him to quiet down. He put her in a suffocating bear-hug and squeezed her right bicep, which caused a laceration, the report said.

Miller’s 42-year-old brother intervened and managed to lock him out of the home but Miller broke out a window on the back door and entered the home again.

The brothers began fighting and Miller pushed his brother head-first into a 50-gallon snake aquarium, causing a large cut at the top of his head, the report said. The younger brother’s 16-year-old son called police when the fight became violent.

Four officers responded to the scene. Miller was shot twice with a Taser and medics gave him two doses of sedatives before police were able to fully restrain him and put him in an ambulance.

Both brothers were taken to Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva where the younger brother required seven staples to close the gash on his head.

The mother was treated at the scene for several scratches and released.

The Kane County state’s attorney’s office charged Miller Sunday with home invasion, aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery and three counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer.

A Kane County judge set his bail at $125,000. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday, Dec. 7. The most serious charge against Miller, home invasion, is a class X felony and carries a sentence of between six and 30 years in prison. Miller remained in jail as of Tuesday.

The mother told police her son has had previous problems with alcohol, according to the police report. Tests also found cocaine in Miller’s system.

McCurtain said the drugs and alcohol in Miller’s system could have contributed to his lack of response to the Taser and sedatives.

“If a person is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, especially extreme amounts, then it could have an influence on the effectiveness,” McCurtain said.